I have crafted successful marketing plans, strategies and campaigns for more than 250 brands over the past thirty-eight years. Over those years, I have witnessed enormous changes in how marketing is executed. However, most marketing fundamentals have not changed in decades. Here is my summary of those fundamentals:
- People are primarily driven by emotions
- Images are more powerful than words and videos can be more powerful than images
- But it is also important to paint vivid pictures with your words
- In copy, generally less is more
- Product / service quality and consistency matter
- Outstanding customer service can overcome other flaws
- Having a unique value proposition is essential
- Continuous innovation is a must for extending a brand's lifecycle
- Maintaining high brand awareness is critical to customer brand insistence
- Brands that share important values with their customers create the highest loyalty
- Brands are often used as self-expression badges
- Price segmentation yields increased revenues and profits
- One of the most important aspects of marketing is successfully recovering from errors or crises
- Guerrilla marketing, proactive publicity and publicity stunts can yield the highest ROI
- PR and media relations are important elements of the marketing mix
- Identifying and using influencers can be very productive
- Word-of-mouth and viral marketing can be very powerful
- "Unexpected" and "outrageous" almost always work in marketing
- Humor and entertainment are key elements of advertising campaigns
- Brands can tap into the human propensity for tribalism
- Unfortunately, fear still sells
- Gaining deep customer insight through marketing research is a key marketer's tool
- Market segmentation is as important as ever
- For larger organizations, creating the optimal brand architecture is one of the trickier marketing tasks
- Carefully crafted (and tested) headlines and subject lines can make a huge difference
- It is possible and hugely advantageous to design and implement the optimal customer experience
- Most automated customer service systems are disastrous
- In the end, it is all about the customer and what motivates him or her
